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Press Release

Partial Amendment of the Enforcement Regulation of the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and the Ministerial Ordinance Stipulating Technical Standards for Final Landfill Site for Municipal Solid Waste and Industrial Waste

October 27, 2004

Ministerial Ordinance Partially amending the Enforcement Regulations for the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and the Ministerial Ordinance Stipulating Technical Standards for Final Landfill Site for Municipal Solid Waste and Industrial Waste shall be promulgated and enforced as of today. Some of the amendments shall be enforced from December 10, 2004 and April 1, 2005.

This amendment is along with the enforcement of the Law Partially Amending Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and the Cabinet Ordinance Partially Amending the Enforcement Regulation of Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law which passed the ordinary Diet session this year. Necessary amendments are made to enforce treatment standards for specified hazardous waste (sulfate pitch) designated by the Law, an obligatory indication to be attached on industrial waste collection vehicles, details of standard for mini-size final landfill sites and to rationalize regulations related to waste treatment facilities.

<Outline of Amendments> *1

1.Changes related to amendments of the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law*2 (Relevant articles of the Law)
(1) Standards related to specified hazardous waste and its treatment standards (Article 16-3)
Details of treatment standards for specified hazardous waste (sulfate pitch) are established, such as structure of container, storage facility for the container, and upper limit for storage volume, etc.
(2) Waste Treatment facilities requiring special measures at the time of accidents (Article 21-2)
Among wastes treatment facilities requiring special measures at the time of accidents, those not subjected to installation permission system based on Article 8-1 and Article 15-1 of the Law, should have treatment facilities for incineration, pyrolysis, and drying, etc., having more than a certain treatment.
(3) Special exception of submitting the environmental impact assessment report for applying for permission of treatment facilities installation (Article 8-3 and Article 15-3)
Stipulating cases where submission of the living environmental impact assessment report at the time of the application for installation permission are not required.

2.Eradication of illegal dumping and further promotion of proper treatment (amendments which are not related to the amended law)
(1) Amendment related to obligatory indication on industrial waste collection vehicles and documents to be on board the vehicle*4
With so many occurrence of illegal dumping of industrial waste, enhancement of control over the collection vehicles became an urgent issue to be cleared. For that purpose, the amendment obligates those vehicles running streets to clearly indicate the cargo they are carrying are industrial waste, including of their own wastes. Also to enable confirmation of a proper transportation, contents of indication and documents to be carried on board are established.
(2) Obligation to regularly check on remaining capacity of final landfill sites, and keep record and disclose the data
In order to have an accurate understanding on remaining capacity of final landfill sites, a regular survey on remaining capacity, maintaining the record and their disclosure became an obligation.
(3) Concrete and clear standard for land filling of waste at mini-size final landfill site
To cope with inappropriate treatment performed at mini-size final landfill sites, the amendment established concrete measures necessary for landfill disposal for those facilities, to prevent pollution of public water area and groundwater by leachate from mini-size final landfill site.

3.Rationalization of regulations related to waste treatment facilities (not related to the amendment of the Law)
(1) Clarifying the treatment standard for pyrolysis
For conservation of living environment, necessary requirements were established for the structure of pyrolysis treatment facilities.
(2) Revising structural and maintenance standards of waste incinerating facilities utilizing the existing manufacturing facilities*3
In case wastes are incinerated in existing manufacturing facilities mentioned below, their structure and actual operational status are taken into consideration and structural and maintenance standards are revised.
- Electric furnaces for steel
- Converter and smelting furnaces for primary refinery of copper
- Roasting furnaces for primary refinery of zinc
(3) Revising waste treatment standards for incinerators*3, *4
To have rational regulation, the treatment standard shall be revised for the small-scale incinerators, complying with emission standards regulated under the Law Concerning Special Measures Against Dioxins.
(4) Revising effluent standards of boron, fluorine, ammonia, and nitrites from controlled landfill site for municipal solid waste and industrial waste
Provisional effluent standards are applied as a temporary measure until the end of March 2005, for boron and its compound, fluorine and its compound, ammonium and its compounds, and nitrites and its compounds from controlled landfill sites for municipal solid waste and industrial waste. For the time being, these provisional standards shall be applied after April 1, 2005.

<Enforcement dates and etc.>

*1 Enforcement date shall be April 1, 2005 except items *2 and *3 below.
*2 For items related to the amendments of the Law, enforcement date shall be October 27, 2004.
*3 For 2) and 3) of 3, enforcement date shall be December 10, 2004.
*4 For 1) of 2 and 3) of 3, necessary temporary measures shall be applied.

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